BALTIMORE — It’s something extraordinary when a 23-year-old shortstop extends his hit streak to 26 games just before the 40-year-old designated hitter belts yet another home run and draws ever closer to having as many as Ted Williams.

Those are time-capsule moments to be savored, steps on the way to what could be a special season.

Instead, what Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz did on Thursday night ultimately meant little when the Red Sox lost, 12-7, against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles hit seven home runs, including two each by Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo. The Red Sox pitching staff was unable to stop Baltimore, starter Rick Porcello and three relievers giving up a series of rockets in the shadow of Fort McHenry.

The Sox took the first two games of the series then lost the next two despite scoring 16 runs.

“We should have won both of these games. We have to throw the ball better all the way around,’’ Porcello said.

These types of games are starting to become a theme for the Red Sox. They were 3-4 on their road trip, losing games when they scored 5, 9, 9, and 7 runs.

The first-place Red Sox are averaging six runs a game, by far the most in the majors. But regression is inevitable, and when that comes the Sox are going to tumble unless their pitching staff improves.

“We’ve got to do some things differently as far as our attack plan from the mound,’’ manager John Farrell said.

“You get these type of games where you’re putting up that kind of offense. We’re not going to get that all the time. To do that on the road, in visiting ballparks, that’s a testament to our offense.

“You’ve got find ways to navigate innings when we’ve got men on base. That has been kind of a reoccurring theme.’’

Not since August 2006 had the Red Sox allowed 12 or more runs in back-to-back games. It was the fourth time in team history the Sox gave up seven home runs in a game, the first since Aug. 8, 2004, against the Tigers.

The Red Sox were down, 4-0, after five innings. Trumbo hit a two-run homer off Porcello in the fourth inning and Jones a two-run shot in the fifth.

Both were on offspeed pitches when Porcello was ahead in the count. Trumbo hit a changeup and Jones a curveball.

“Tough to swallow,’’ Porcello said. “Those were poor pitch selection on my part. I had other options and other weapons better than those . . . I’m ahead in the count, I don’t need to throw a strike.’’

Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez was working on a one-hit shutout to that point. He did not get an out in the sixth inning as the Red Sox took the lead with a series of big punches.

Christian Vazquez led off with a double into the right-field corner. Mookie Betts drew a walk and Dustin Pedroia loaded the bases with a single to right field.

Bogaerts extended his hit streak to 26 games with a two-run single to the gap in left field. It should have been a double but Bogaerts thought he had a sacrifice fly and was slow out of the batter’s box.

“I know I hit it a little off the end, so I didn’t expect it to travel that much,’’ Bogaerts said.

No matter. Ortiz followed with a three-run homer to right field and the Red Sox had a 5-4 lead.

“It worked out well. I stayed on first base, they pitched to David, they made a mistake, and he hit it out,’’ Bogaerts said. “If I’m on second, maybe they walk him.’’

Bogaerts was 2 for 5. He and Jackie Bradley Jr. are the first teammates to have hit streaks of 26 games or more in the same season since Toronto’s Shawn Green and Shannon Stewart in 1999.

Bradley’s 29-game streak ended last week.

“I know I have it. That’s the reality, man,’’ said Bogaerts. “We live in a world that you sure know that you have something.’’

For Ortiz, it was his 16th homer of the season and No. 519 of his career, two shy of Williams. Ortiz has nine home runs in his last 13 games at Camden Yards. He homered in three of the four games in the series.

After Hanley Ramirez singled, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter all but sprinted to the mound to take out Jimenez.

Porcello did not hold onto the lead for long. He got one out in the bottom of the inning before Trumbo hit his second home run, hammering a sinker that didn’t sink to center field.

Porcello started his season well but has hit a rut in his last four starts, allowing 15 earned runs over 23? innings. His earned run average has climbed from 3.11 to 4.00.

In a 6-6 game, the Red Sox went to lefthander Robbie Ross Jr. to start the seventh inning. He walked Ryan Flaherty and allowed a single by Francisco Pena.

With two outs, Farrell went to Junichi Tazawa to face the dangerous Manny Machado.

Machado took a splitter for a strike. Tazawa went to the same pitch again but left it high. Machado drilled it into the stands in left field for his 14th home run and Baltimore again had the lead.

“The inability to locate consistently is the difference in the last two games,’’ Farrell said.

The Sox allowed three more home runs in what was an embarrassing eighth inning.

“Hopefully we keep swinging the bat and the pitching will take care of itself,’’ Bogaerts said.